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Training Component

Meredith Bower and Jim Barbee providing instructional
presentations on the NC Juvenile Justice system for students at
Robeson County Community College

In keeping with the mission of transitioning programs and staff from NC-ACE to RCTCYS, the organization will also continue the solid training initiatives developed by NC-ACE administration which includes our work with graduate students through field placements and Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs) through UNC Chapel Hill and UNC Pembroke.

NC-ACE has partnered with Fayetteville State University, University of New England and Campbell University to work with their graduate studies programs.

Through NC-ACE’s Lecture Series, the project brought several nationally known researchers and pioneers in the areas of violence prevention to the UNC Chapel Hill School of Social Work to present lectures on a variety of topics in the field of youth violence prevention.

Robeson County Teen Court and Youth Services will continue to work with undergraduates through the Internship program and the Experiential Learning Course with UNC Pembroke under the guidance of Dr. Renee Lamphere from the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice and Dr. George Harrison with the Department of Mass Communications.

NC-ACE/RCTCYS provide staff to conduct lectures, instructional presentations and trainings to various agencies and institutions around the surrounding areas.

MSW Field Placement Program

Since the beginning of the NC-ACE project and its continuation through RCTCYS, the MSW Field Placement program has been a valued experience for both the students and the agencies. Collectively, both agencies placed 16 graduate students from UNC Pembroke, Fayetteville State University and the University of New England.

The Center Coordinator for NC-ACE, Jim Barbee, MPA, served as the Task Instructor for each student and Dr. Martica Bacallao, Katie Cotter, MSW and Dr. Paul Smokowski served as Academic Supervisors. Beginning July 1, 2014 all graduate students will be placed with RCTCYS with Task Supervision conducted by Meredith Bower, a recent MSW graduate from UNC Pembroke.

The mission of the Social Work Program at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke seeks to prepare students to become leaders in enhancing the quality of life and seeking solutions to rural problems. It is particularly concerned with the consequences of injustice, and thus focuses on the empowerment of populations-at-risk and the advancement of economic, political and social justice in all communities. Additionally the mission is to prepare students for professional social work practice within an advanced generalist model. Social workers prepared using a generalist model has the capacity to practice in varied settings with diverse client populations. There are few social work programs in Rural and Native American communities that prepare students in this manner.

The MSW program is designed to (1) help meet the immediate and growing need in public, private and social service agencies in North Carolina for advanced generalist social work professionals, and (2) to offer an advanced generalist program that emphasizes work with Rural and Native American indigenous populations.

Katie Cotter, Academic Supervisor and Meredith Bower, MSW student,
during the MSW poster presentations on each students field placement.